Paulauskas new parliamentary chairman

VILNIUS - Arturas Paulauskas, the 47- year-old lawyer and leader of the New Union (Social Liberals) has been elected chairman of the new Parliament on Oct. 19.

Paulauskas was nominated by the New Policy Coalition, which has 67 MPs. The coalition is made up of the Liberal Union, the New Union, the Center Union and the Modern Christian Democratic Union.

This bloc is supported by a couple of independent MPs, the Peasants' Party, Lithuania's Poles' Electoral Action, Young Lithuania Party, and the Christian Democratic Union. Each of these small parties has from one to four MPs.

On the eve of the vote for parliamentary chairman, the New Policy coalition and its allies signed a declaration on common activities, vowing to create an open democratic society and implement reforms needed for integration into NATO and the European Union.

The Social Democratic Coalition of 51 MPs put forward Ceslovas Jursenas, parliamentary chairman in 1993-1996 and leader of the Democratic Labor Party. His party, together with the Social Democratic Party and two tiny parties - the Russians' Union of Lithuania and the New Democracy - formed a center-left bloc before the election of Oct. 8.

Both candidates for head of Parliament gave their speeches and answered questions from MPs before the vote. Jursenas emphasized his experience, stating that Lithuania took its first decisive steps towards EU and NATO while he was parliamentary chairman.

Paulauskas emphasized that his bloc won the parliamentary election. "The nation voted for the new policy which means openness, tolerance and social compromise. We came to organize the nation, not to rule it," Paulauskas said.

Jursenas got 53 votes. There are 141 seats in Parliament and 139 MPs participated in the vote.

The Conservative Party with its nine MPs stated that it would support neither of the two candidates during the vote.

However, Vytautas Landsbergis, leader of the Conservative Party and parliamentary chairman in 1990-1992 and 1996-2000, said that he would like to consult the new parliamentary chairman on international affairs. Paulauskas accepted this proposition.

Landsbergis proposed a resolution stating that Lithuania wants to join the EU in 2004 and expects an invitation to NATO in 2002. Paulauskas expressed his support for the resolution.

On Oct. 19 the Conservative government led by Andrius Kubilius returned its plenipotentiaries to President Valdas Adamkus. The president decreed the outgoing government to continue carrying out its duties until a new government has been lined up.

There are plenty of speculations in the media about future ministers in the new government. Very few have doubts that Linas Linkevicius, ambassador to NATO in Brussels, will become defense minister. Non-official sources from Adamkus' palace say that Antanas Valionis, ambassador to Poland, might become a foreign minister although the names of other people, related to the Foreign Ministry, are mentioned too.

The new government of Rolandas Paksas, leader of the Liberal Union, is expected to be created at the end of November. Paksas will resign from his post of Vilnius mayor. Adamkus presented Paksas to the post of prime minister at the sitting of the new Parliament on Oct. 24. According to Lithuania's constitution, the prime minister is appointed and dismissed by the president following the Parliament's approval. MPs should announce their approval of Paksas in a week's time.